Grave Digger are a popular enough group in Greece since 1996 which was when they also had their big success with the album “Tunes Of War”. There was so much adoration for them by the Greek metalheads that, as one-time bandmember Uwe Lulis told me, when they needed bodyguards in order to they go from a record shop where they had a signing session to the van that was waiting outside. On the other hand Grave Digger and in particular frontman Chris Bontendahl, have never hidden their love for Greece, releasing the “Dark Of The Sun” EP which featured the audience participation intro from their gig in Athens.

Of course it has been almost 13 years since then and Grave Digger have now reached funnily enough 13 albums. With a particular preference towards the concept album after “Tunes Of War” they released other 3 themed CDs. This one though, as far as I can tell, isn’t. It is however the first Grave Digger album with two guitarists after the recent addition of Thilo Herrmann to the band. To tell you the truth however, the album isn’t that much different for having two guitars, moreover Grave Digger always had 2 guitars on almost all their tracks even though there was only one guitarist. What is remarkable however is the lack of keyboards. Ever since Excalibur in 1999, when the band decided it would include H.P. Katzenburg as a full-time member, keyboards though never playing a leading role were at least distinct. In this latest release however this has changed. This might signal a return to the rough sound that they had up to '96. Generally speaking that’s what the tracks on this album seem to point to.

This is both good and bad. Sure, many of the fans will be glad to hear it. For those however, who discovered Grave Digger from Tunes Of War onwards, they will probably miss the epic choruses and melodic passages that made songs like “The Dark Of The Sun” or “Tristan's Fate” such fan favourites. On the other hand, tracks such as “Lonely The Innocence Dies”, which is a duet between Chris Boltendahl and a as yet unidentified singer, or “Pray”, which is both the album’s single and simultaneously the most melodic track on the album, are songs that all fans of the band can appreciate. Unfortunately however this CD doesn’t have the epic character of the Middle Ages trilogy of albums (Tunes Of War, Knights Of The Cross and Excalibur) but also lacks the fast rhythm of their early releases. It doesn’t exactly disappoint but neither does it satisfy. In any case I think I’ll go for another “serving” of Tunes Of War, please….